Rebels’ Half Truth, Sanaa’s Half Lie, the True US Role……
“On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson. One of the targeted sites was a suspected al Qaeda training camp north of the capitol, Sanaa, and the second target was a location where officials said "an imminent attack against a U.S. asset was being planned." The Yemen attacks by the U.S. military represent a major escalation of the Obama administration's campaign against al Qaeda……….”
This tells me two things: first that the Houthi rebels told some truth, at least a half-truth anyway, when they claimed earlier that American forces were involved in some strikes in Yemen. Second, the Yemeni government did not tell the truth, a near-lie anyway, when it claimed to have raided al-Qaeda locations and killed 34 terrorists. U.S Cruise missiles killed them.
Presumably al-Qaeda does not hang around anywhere near the (Shi’a) Houthis lest they get contaminated with their heretic ideas. This is where I am confused: did the US strike at both groups (al-Qaeda and the Houthis)? If so, then the civil war is going worse for the Sanaa regime and its allies than I had thought.
So what is the true American role? Is it just striking at the al-Qaeda terrorists? Is it evolving as the Houthi rebel situation on the ground clarifies? Is it near a point of total commitment to Sanaa against all comers? The latter would put Washington smack at the center of two cases of civil strife: the northern one for whatever it is the Houthis want, and the southern one for the resumption of national independence of South Yemen. A definite no-no.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
mhg
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